


Touch Starved

by Yankyo



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horrortale (Undertale), Discrimination, F/M, Genderfluid Frisk (Undertale), Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Reader is tired of this shit, Sans has PTSD, Sans has no control, Soul Sex, Soulmates, slowish burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-08-28 20:46:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16730331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yankyo/pseuds/Yankyo
Summary: Long long ago a mistake was made, a murder hidden as heroism as the monsters were driven underground. You thought it was all legends until the orphan child Frisk came back with all the monsters in tow, plunging you into a world in which soulmates exist and yours just so happens to be a violent skeleton who won't hesitate to kill to keep you safe from a world that hates monsters.





	1. Chapter 1

      Your mother used to tell you that everything that happened happened for a reason. It didn't matter if the reason was because of some good, or fate, or just luck of the draw, the logic behind the reasoning didn't matter, what mattered was the outcome and how you handled it. And it was with that logic that you lived your life. Whatever happened happened for a reason and you just had to accept that and move forwards. That had gotten you through your mother's death, through the sudden rejection of your fiance, and had helped you find your way into a career you never thought you would enjoy. 

 

      The asylum was a hulking building, it towered over the small town from it's perch up higher on the mountain. Mtt. Ebott Asylum. A home for those who could no longer live in the outside world, for those who needed constant care and support. Not what you thought you'd do with your medical degree, but you could at least say you were never bored! Every day came with something new, either a new patient had come or someone had a new story to tell, or there was some fight that broke out because someone stole someone else's pudding. And that was before the monsters came out from beneath the mountain! 

 

      Actually, it was the asylum that had been the first to know, when the monsters came down, they had walked right up the building led by a child you recognized from helping out at the orphanage. Frisk was a kind child, their muteness often causing people to think they were rude or lazy or shy, but you had learned that Frisk could be highly expressive and sweet once you put in effort. And learning sign language from them had been a rewarding experience. So even though you were apprehensive, you still ran out to meet the child, so happy to see them alive and well. 

 

      “Frisk!” You reached out to pull the child into your embrace when you found your body unable and unwilling to move. 

 

      “Hold up there, lady.” A gruff voice spoke up. “before ya go and get  _ frisky _ , ya aren't that matron lady, are ya?” The one speaking was.... A skeleton? He was tall, a least a head taller than you with rows of jagged teeth, a bright glowing red eye and a painful looking whole in his skull. The look he gave you was positively feral, but when Frisk reached up to tug on his jacket, the look softened. Frisk's hands moved so fast they were almost a blurry, but you could catch little snippets of what they were saying if you really focused. 

 

_       'not her.... Kind lady... Let go....’  _ you cleared your throat, a bit more than slightly uncomfortable as the ragged looking crowd of monsters looked between you and the child. 

 

      “Oh come now, Sans, let the poor dear go!” If the skeleton was big, this monster was  _ huge _ . Her hair and clothes were ragged and torn and her yellow eyes jittery, but you could still see echoes of a regal air as she walked towards you. With a gentle hand, she took yours and gave you a smile. “I'm very sorry about him, we are just a little protective of this child.” She patted your hand in her giant fluffy one and the weird aura that held you still dissipated. 

 

      “I... It's ok, I shouldn't have just ran up like that.” You laughed, trying to remain calm and face this rationally. Honestly, you had spent so much time looking for and worrying about Frisk since they disappeared that the sight of them alive and well made you so happy you couldn't have thought about anything else. 

 

      “Hmph.” A tall, green scaled fish creature gave you a withering stare, she wasn't as tall as the goat creature still holding your hand, but she was big, bulky and looked like she could stay your body between two fingers if she so desired. “Hate to cut this reunion short, but do you got any food in there? My people are starving.” With that and the crown on her head, you assumed the fish lady was the ruler here. You found yourself nodding, sending a glance back to the asylum. There, gathered at the windows were your patients and coworkers, their faces full of shock, fear, and growing distrust - and we'll, it wasn't like you didn't understand the reaction. You couldn't understand why you weren't completely freaking out yourself, but... Frisk looked so at ease surrounded by these monsters, so they couldn't be that bad. 

 

      “Stay here, I'll see what I can get for you.” You said, standing a little straighter. You couldn't just invite them inside, you had no idea how the patients would react to them and someone could get hurt, so you instead looked over the group and made a headcount of how many there were. Honestly? Not that many, possibly around the ballpark of forty, fifty? And they all looked tired, haggard,  _ hungry,  _ but there was this look of hope on everyone's face that made you give them all a gentle smile and made you all the more determined to help. As you turned to walk inside, Frisk was at your side, their small hand grabbing onto your pant leg as they told you one handedly that they were coming to help. 

 

      When you opened the door, there was an uproar, doctors and patients alike swarmed you and Frisk, making you push the child behind you protectively. 

 

      “Are they real?” 

 

      “Are they here to attack?”

 

      “What do they  _ want?”  _ You were bombarded with questions you had no real way of answering, but Frisk was quick to sidestep around you.

 

      ‘They aren't here to hurt anyone’ Frisk signed and without goading, you translated for them. 'they've been trapped underground for a long time without much food, they're just hungry.’ Everyone had heard of the legends, the descendants of the mages that had locked them away could still be found, their magic energy had weakened considerably if the legends were true, but the thought of monsters had been so outlandish that no one had given much thought to it other than that of a legend. But to think that they had been stuck right under your feet as you had worked was a grim thought. They had been suffering right there and you had had no clue. 

 

      “We need to gather up rations,” you picked Frisk up, setting the small child at your waist. They signed something quickly for you, what they were saying so strange you faltered. “ah... Frisk says they've been designated as the... Ambassador for monsters. They want to speak with the mayor.” For a moment, everything was silent, your fellow doctors looking between you and the child disbelievingly before the head doctor finally broke the tension. 

 

      “Alright. I'll... I'll go ahead and call up the mayoral office, everyone! We're going to go to the kitchen and gather up what we can, ok?” The head doctor, Dr. Susan Webber, was an older woman, she was tall and stern looking, but was always kind and patient with everyone. “And once the food is gathered up, we're going to go back to our rooms.” Her voice was soothing enough to make some patients nod in agreement, but there was a grumble that rang out regardless. Gerald was an older patient, according to him he had been at the asylum long before anyone else and he would still be there after everyone left. He was, in his own words, the ruler of the asylum. Or at least, that's what his delusion was. 

 

      “We're gonna give those  _ freaks  _ our food? Wasn't they shoved underground for good reason? I say we lead em right back in and lock the door!” there were a few nods and you could see Gerald swelling with every one he saw, gaining more and more confidence. 

 

      “Now, hold on!” You protested, “they've done nothing wrong, what you're proposing is murder!” You knew better, of course, than to argue with someone who wasn't mentally sound, and usually you wouldn't but you couldn't just stand there and not say anything!  _ Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.  _ The sound of fingers drumming impatiently drew the attention towards a darkened corner of the room where the skeleton from before was standing, his face a leering smile and his eye practically swirling with magic. 

 

      “Now I ain't all that surprised. Ya humans always were pretty... Murderous, no bones about that.” The skeleton peeled himself from the wall, stalking up to the group, his smile seeming to grow wider. “but ya see, we  _ ain't  _ going back underground, ya hear? Ya don't wanna give us something to eat? No skin off my back, we can find something for ourselves.” He stood before Gerald, who seemed to be shaking too much to attempt speaking, his voice low and dangerous. 

 

**_Clap!_ ** Frisk clapped their hands together suddenly, their sweet face scrunched up in worry. As the skeleton looked back, Frisk began signing once more. 

 

      'be nice, they're just startled!’ Frisk lectured, the skeleton laughed, the sound dull and irritated. 

 

      “Yeah, so what? Doesn't mean I'm gonna let them hurt anyone.” He gave the frightened group a sideways glare and sneered as they immediately averted their gazes. Even sweet Dreams. Webber had looked away, her face pale. You had never been so disappointed in your race. 

 

      “I'll take you to the kitchen.” You refused to let things go like this, unwilling to let down the hopeful monsters you had seen before. The skeleton turned an appraising look on you and you felt the sudden need to cover yourself under that searching look. It felt as if he could see into the core of your being, as if he was judging your every sin. 

 

      “Lead the way.” His smile was back, though the distrustful look in his eyes hadn't dimmed in the slightest. 

 

      “Dr. Webber, call the mayoral office, I'll be right back.” The doctor only looked at you blankly for a moment before she finally nodded. Shifting your hold on Frisk, you gave the skeleton a strained smile and led the way down the long hallway. 

 

      “Yer a brave one, ain't ya?” The skeleton spoke up once you were out of earshot. You personally didn't think so, braveness had nothing to do with this. 

 

      “I just couldn't let them chase you off. Just thinking of what hell you had to endure down there, barely any food and nowhere to go....” You shuddered at the thought. You had some experience with how it felt to be trapped... You would never want to wish that feeling upon anyone and yet these monsters had suffered far worse than you had. “Besides, everyone is usually very welcoming, they were just... Startled I guess.” Even to you the excuse sounded lame. 

 

      “You're patella-ing me.”  _ Did he just _ . “Humans aren't all that used to skeletons out of their skin suits. Ain't no big deal.” A weak chuckle left you as you met his smile with one of your own.

 

      “It doesn't  _ rib  _ you the wrong way?” You tried, honestly you were a bit rusty when it came to puns. Sharing stupid jokes had been a pastime your mother enjoyed, you used to spend hours hurling puns at one another and when she had passed... Well you found telling such jokes to be pointless if they were just going to be for yourself. Thankfully, the skeleton laughed at your pitiful attempt. 

 

      “I wouldn't tell ya a fibula, pumpkin, it don't matter if they're scared, as long as they don't try an’ shove us underground again.” You pushed open the door to the kitchen and set Frisk down onto their feet. 

 

      “They won't.” You sounded far more confident than you felt and you can tell the skeleton knew. He stepped closer to you, his larger form dwarfing yours as he lifted your chin with just one finger. 

 

      “Are you gonna keep us safe, pumpkin?” He asked, his voice a low rumble. His touch was strange, his phalange cold, but you could feel heat growing through your body in response. There was a tight feeling in your chest, almost as if  _ something  _ was trying to escape - but the strangest thing was how much you wanted to press closer to him, to have him touch you even more. What would it feel like if you kissed him? What did his bones look like under his clothing? Were those teeth of his as sharp as you suspected? What would it feel like if he bit you? 

 

      “I... I...” You could hardly get your voice out. Was he glowing brighter? You could swear his eye was burning a darker red than before and peeking out from underneath his heavy jacket was a red glow. The skeleton's....  _ Sans’  _ smile dropped to a startled grimace even as his eye widened in wonder. He was certainly leaning in closer, that widened eye slowly closing and his grimace softening as you eagerly leaned in as well, but when you reached up and set your hands on his shoulders for balance, he jerked back as if suddenly remembering where he was. As his touch left, so did the cloud that fogged up your mind.  _ What had you just been  _ **_doing?_ **

 

      “i’ll go... get everyone else. bring em over.” He announced, vanishing without so much as an explanation for what had just occurred. And as he left, there was a tug in your chest, a part of you that called out for him as if it had just been found after being lost for so long and didn't want to be left alone again.  

 

_       What was going on?? _

 

      Unfortunately, there was no answers to be found, but Frisk was shooting you a very concerned look and the starving monster outside weren't getting any less hungry as you stood there. 

 

      “S-sorry!” You jerked yourself to. Lunch had already been served and often times there was quite a bit of food left over. Usually it would be put aside for the next leftovers day or it would just get thrown out, so you had no problem in heating the food right back up. For today, it had been a beef stew, a hearty meal that was ushered in as the summers heat finally gave way to the cooler fall temperatures and colds began springing up one right after the other. The pot was still more than halfway full, still choked full of veggies and chunks of meat, but you still brought out a few loaves of bread and made sandwiches anyways. “Go open the door for them, it's starting to get dark out.” You told Frisk, your cheerful helper. They had been busy gathering up bowls, but the way the stack had wobbled in their arms had been anxiety inducing. You were more than relieved to see them set the stack down and rush off to throw open the doors to the outside. As they did that, you began pouring heaping servings of soup into every bowl, cup and small pot you could find so every monster of every shape and size could eat. The sandwiches were cut up and set on a big plate on the counter and mostly because you needed the caffeine, a pot of coffee was set to boil. 

 

      Following closely at Frisk's heels was the goat monster but the others weren't close behind as the smell of food wafted out to greet them. As the group of ravenous monsters descended on the food, you wisely stepped to the side and allowed them to grab their servings. Strangely enough, before even a single one ate, they sprinkled  _ something?  _ On the food that made it glow with a gentle light before they allowed themselves to eat. The goat monster caught you staring and gave a soft, almost abashed giggle. 

 

      “Ah, sorry, we cannot eat human food without first giving it some magic.” She explained. “Oh... I haven't even introduced myself yet, have I? I am Toriel.” She gulped down the pot of stew easily and the sight of her sharp, yellow teeth and curled, broken horns made you wonder just how many fights she had been in. Such a thought immediately made you feel guilty, but... Still... As gentle as Toriel acted, you could almost sense the hidden tension behind her smile. And as you looked at the large paw she extended your way, you could feel a phantom squeeze around your throat that made you swallow hard. But politeness made you reach out and grab her paw in yours and introduce yourself with a smile. There was nothing actually  _ wrong _ , you reminded yourself harshly. Frisk had latched themselves to Toriel's skirt and looked so at peace there that it was plain to see any fears were silly. 

 

      “Frisk told me about you, you know.” You jolted to, a frown coming onto your face - sorrowful and tired - oh you could imagine what was said. When you were denied the opportunity to adopt Frisk by the Matron Mother, you had been devastated. The reasoning had been ridiculous, of course, could they really claim you wouldn't be a good mother simply because you were single? Because you had been engaged to another woman? What  _ horseshit. _ And you hadn't hesitated to tell that to the Matron Mother and everyone else there listening in, but nothing you said had mattered. You had been dragged from the premises and the next day, Frisk had disappeared. No one had looked to hard for them, well, except for you. “Frisk told me how kind you were, how you had tried to help them escape from that... That  _ dreadful  _ place.” Toriel's eyes glowed harshly, her teeth grinding together. With a swift breath, she forced herself to calm, “I... Well, I was hoping for your help, see, I plan on adopting Frisk as my own.” 

 

      “That won't be happening!” Every eye darted to the door where the Matron Mother herself stood, her arms crossed in front of her chest and her usual disdainful look on her face. “Frisk. Come.  _ Now.”  _ The child standing between you and Toriel flinched and the both of you stood a little straighter in response. 

 

      “You were the one to lose Frisk in the first place!” You barked back. “it's lucky they were found by Toriel and cared for -” 

 

      “Miss.” Behind the Matron, the chief of police stepped into the room. “Frisk is a runaway child and will be handled, but this is not a safe environment for them.” More policemen filed into the room, distrust and distaste evident on their faces as the regarded the monsters around you. It was still for a moment, the calm before the storm, but when Frisk was grabbed, everything went to shit. 


	2. Chapter 2

      Looking back, you would wonder,  _ could there have been a peaceful solution? _ If you had remained calm and tried talking it out, could everything have gone better? Maybe if the police force had been more willing to listen, or if the Matron wasn't there, or if - 

 

      But no matter the ifs, the ands, and the buts, what had happened had happened, and there was no taking it back. 

 

      The man who grabbed Frisk was someone you knew, Joffrey was a sweet boy who had just recently joined the force, when you had just been moving in to town, he had offered to buy you a drink and had introduced you to his friends in an effort to make you feel welcome. His girlfriend Rebecca was pregnant, five months along, in fact, and when you had been working at the clinic, she had often stopped by for advice on what to do and Joffrey would always be a step behind, holding onto his girlfriend's purse in one hand and Rebecca's hand in the other: they were a cute couple. Unfortunately, Toriel had no such attachments to Joffrey, had no happy memories, no reason to hold back. All she saw was a strange man grabbing her child and she reacted as any mother would - she attacked. With one swipe of her paw, Joffrey flew across the room, hit the far wall and landed in a crumpled heap. For a moment, everything was still again, stunned into silence, but of course that ended rather quickly. 

 

      When one of their own is injured in front of them, of course they would react violently, it didn't make it right, didn't make what was happening right, but you could at least somewhat understand where the rage was coming from. Even if you shouted as you saw the stun gun being raised at Toriel. You tried to pull her out of the way, but the prongs hit her dead in the chest anyways with a loud crackle, the goat monster besides you fell to her knees and the other monsters flew in a rage. 

 

      The fish monster you would later learn was called Undyne threw herself at the perpetrator of the attack, a spear appearing in her hand without any warning. Sans was next to Toriel in an instant, his skeletal fingers quickly brushing away the prongs as you helped her back up onto her feet. Frisk was signing madly, waving their hands to and fro to try and get  _ someone's  _ attention but the damage had already been done. The police and the monsters converged on one another, snapping fangs grabbing batons and slashing claws ripping through bulletproof vests. The only ones pressing back against the wall was Toriel, Sans, another, much,  _ much  _ taller skeleton and a small, shivering lizard. 

 

      The hulking skeleton had sidled up to you to pick up Frisk in his gnarled hands, his teeth were too large for his mouth, which did hinder his speaking but you could still make out what he said. 

 

      “You're alright, Queen Toriel?” Queen? You had thought the snarling fish was the leader here. 

 

      “I'm fine, merely stunned.” For a moment, she tried to flash a smile, but you could still plainly see she was in pain from the way her paw still squeezed your hand - as if she would collapse if she let go. 

 

      “they're really gunning for us, huh.” Sans interjected. Personally, you saw this as no time for puns and it seemed you were not alone in this thought. 

 

      “BROTHER! REALLY? EVERYTHING HAS GONE HORRIBLY! THIS IS NO TIME FOR YOUR TASTELESS JOKES!” even though his tone was scolding and his voice jarringly loud, the tone of the conversation  was way too calm considering the circumstances. Right before the small group, a snarling bunny snapped their teeth at a the policewoman pinned beneath her, another person you knew all too well in this town. You couldn't just let this continue,  you had to at least try and stop this, right? Without even thinking, you rushed off to pull the bunny from the woman, wrapping your arms around his waist and yanked back hard. Your body weight made you both sprawl back onto the ground. Furious, the bunny struggled in your grasp, his teeth snapping harshly at the air as he tried so hard to bite you that it was all you could do to hold onto him. You were used to this, sadly enough. You hated having to do it, but sometimes a fight would be so severe between patients that someone had to break it up. And sometimes you would find yourself just like this, wincing as sharp nails dug into your skin and someone hissed obscenities  at you, but you looked your legs around their waist, clenched your teeth and just  _ held  _ as you tried to calm them down.  _ It's ok. Calm down, there's another way we can handle this.  _ The usual words were useless, especially  with the fight still raging around you and the bunny was much  _ much  _ stronger than my of your patients. And when those sharp nails slashed into you and the scent of your blood filled the air, you could just feel the weight of the eyes that snapped towards you. 

 

_ Human _

 

_ Smells good _

 

**_Hungry._ **

 

      It was the sudden burst of fear that gave you enough strength  to shove the rabbit up off of you so you could crawl away, not that you got too far before the monsters could converge upon you. But before  even a single one could touch you, there was a loud snap. Red magic filled the room, forcing every person down forcefully to the floor. 

 

      “well this is a  _ pressing  _ issue.” that deep voice was easily recognizable, even if you had only met him today and when a skeletal hand was offered to you, you didn't even hesitate to take it. It was strange, but Sans made you feel... safe. He pulled you to your feet with relative ease, gently pulling your body to his so he could inspect the wound. “hn.” he looked... displeased? The bunny that had hurt you was fighting against the magic hold, well, nearly  _ everyone  _ was, but when Sans knelt down before him and fixed that glowing red eye upon him, the rabbit almost began convulsing. “you touching what's mine?” Sans hissed, his tone so low you could barely hear him.  _ His? What does that mean?  _ The bunny was babbling now, shaking his head to and fro. 

 

      “I-I didn't mean to! I didn't  know! I swear!” he wailed, but it fell on deaf ears. Sans stabbed his hand through the rabbit's  back and ripped out a  _ glowing upside down heart??  _ Squeezing it in his hand, the rabbit let out a bloodcurdling scream before his body began dissolving into fine, white dust. 

 

      Everyone was shell shocked, monster and human alike as Sans got back on his feet. 

 

      “now that  _ that's  _ taken care of.” he brushed the dust from his phalanges carelessly and addressed the room. “we all got off on the wrong foot, eh? well, not to  _ kid  _ ya, but Frisk ain't going with ya.” As he spoke, Sans wrapped an arm around your waist and was way too easily pulling you along, not that you could fight him in that moment. All you could see was that rabbit's face, the fear he had in his eyes before he died... “but we ain't gonna hurt no one so long as no one goes and tried to hurt one of us, right Tori? Undyne?” the two rose up to their feet as he spoke, released from the magic holding onto everyone. 

 

      Now even as Sans tried to portray a cool persona, as pressed up against him as you were, you could feel a faint tremor going through his bones. Something told you he was clinging to you for stability as much as it was for your protection, and despite a part of you screaming at you to rip yourself away, you instinctively wrapped your own arm around his waist. Why? Shouldn't you be trying to get away? He had just  _ killed  _ someone, he could be planning on killing everyone else he had pinned in this room, but... you still felt so safe in his arms. That tingling feeling was back, spreading from where you were pressed against him until there was this soft,  _ warm  _ feeling in your chest that this right here was exactly where you belonged. Your heart was racing, but right in the center of your chest was a thrill from deep within you. You belonged to Sans, Sans belonged to you. He would  _ never  _ hurt you, besides, the only reason he went after that rabbit is because he hurt you! And you would certainly  do all you could to defend him too, right? 

 

Wait what? 

 

      You were at war with yourself, the part that wanted to curl up deeper into Sans and the part that still had a shred of common sense battled bitterly. And so focused on this inner battle were you that you were only broken out of it when Sans repeated your name a bit more firmly and turned his eye on you. 

 

      “wh-what?” you were aware you probably looked like a moron. But you were staring at his teeth and wondering how exactly he spoke without opening his mouth. How he kept that perpetual smile. There was amusement in his tone as he stroked your cheek now. 

 

      “you still in there?” he asked, the touch making you let out a soft sigh as you eyelashes fluttered shut.  _ More. Please more. _ You wanted him to keep touching, you wanted to feel him all over. “heh.  _ cute _ .” he pulled way and you whined - literally, a pathetic whine worked  way up through your throat as you reached out to grab onto him again, but without the warm and fuzzies brought on from his proximity, it was easier for the common sense side to win it's hard fought victory. 

 

      “What?” you shook yourself, automatically drawing back now. The room was emptier now, only a few monsters and a few humans here to witness your shame. The humans looked horrified, the monsters amused but not a single one seemed like they were willing to give you an explanation. “What the  _ hell  _ was  _ that _ ?” you risked looking at Sans, who's smile grew impossibly bigger. 

 

      “you ain't been listening?” you wanted to both smack him and kiss him - God why did you  _ feel  _ like this. “yer my soulmate.” he said that reverently, as if you should know exactly what that meant and entailed but even as that part in your chest reacted, you drew further away. You  _ knew  _ he was telling the truth, but the implications that came with it terrified you, and the way you just melted at his touch like that couldn't be normal or  _ safe.  _ But the didn't stop the guilt from rising up as Sans’ smile dropped. It didn't go away completely, hell you weren't sure it  _ could  _ but the way his brows - he didn't  _ really  _ have brows, but your brain couldn't find a better way to explain how his face twisted - well, his brows furrowed and you could swear you could practically  _ feel  _ his pain.

 

      “Soulmates don't exist.” you weren't really  arguing, not really. You could say that all you wanted but you knew the truth. Didn't stop Sans from barking out an amused laugh. 

 

      “ya want me to prove it? in front of all these people?” he asked and you could feel yourself pale in response. Whatever he did to  _ prove  _ that you were soulmates would surely be something that was meant to be private, intimate, or would have you nuzzling against him again like a well loved housecat. Neither seemed to be fun options, so you quickly shook your head. 

 

      “Can we just get back to the matter at hand?!” the chief interjected, the look on his face akin to disgust. “You can't have a minor being the ambassador for your entire race! Frisk has to go back to the home for their own safety.” the aforementioned child was still holding onto Toriel, their eyes widening slightly in fear. 

 

      “Frisk doesn't want to go back there.” Toriel argued. “They told us of the abuse they faced at the hands of that... that  _ woman.”  _ the word sounded like a curse coming from her. “Even if Frisk cannot be the ambassador, at least allow me to adopt the child as my own. It's what they wish as well.” was this the argument you had missed? Well, it was understandable that Frisk couldn't become an ambassador, you knew that from the get go and suspected most of the monsters did as well. They were just too young to be taken seriously, after all. 

 

      “Even if we could allow someone of your  _ species _ to adopt the child, we cannot let someone who has no job and no home take a child. It's not safe for them!” even as the argument raged, no one was making an effort to take the child from Toriel, a wise decision. 

 

      “I have a home and multiple careers, my attempt to adopt Frisk was rejected.” you found yourself pointing out, only to have almost every eye snap back to you. Resisting the urge to squirm under the attention, you cleared your throat. “besides, her  _ species _ ? Are we really boiling down to a racist debate? Obviously Frisk has been well taken care of, even in the underground where they had no food, and after they ran away, I don't think the home would be a good place to send them back to. Why can't you at least allow Toriel to prove herself as a mother? Or at least let her foster Frisk.” you were no lawyer, but you had studied up on it when you tried to adopt Frisk. “They could stay with me.” Toriel looked shocked, but reached out to take your hand in hers again, grateful for the support. The chief of police, on the other hand, looked ready to argue more. 

 

      “that's a great idea!”  _ ok, people needed to stop showing up out of the blue.  _ The mayor stood up from her place at the edge of the kitchen. “we can give the monsters a trial period as a whole, let them show us that this violent outbreak was a misunderstanding and that they can integrate  with normal civilization. Of course, you don't have room to house everyone, do you dear?” you shook your head mutely, just trying to imagine fitting everyone into your modest little house. “well, I'm not sure everyone would welcome housing the monsters  _ just yet _ , but! There is Ebott Hollow!” Ebbot Hollow was an old hotel that had fallen into ruin when the owner died. The town could bring themselves to destroy such an old building, and well, it was tucked out of the way, just at the base of the mountain, that it could easily be put out of mind. “its a bit of a fixer upper, but I think it should do the job quite nicely.” to call it a fixer upper was being generous,  but what other options were there? Undyne’s large fang were bared in a distrustful snarl, but she walked forwards with about as regality as she could muster to thrust a webbed hand to the mayor. 

 

      “Queen Undyne.” when the mayor took her hand, you could see the look of barely withheld disgust. How exactly did Undyne's scales feel? Cold? Wet? Slimy? The fact that she was out of water without any visible strain was confusing enough as you could see her gills flutter with every breath, but you knew if you asked you wouldn't get a real answer. 

 

      “Mayor Grace. We will be checking in often, making sure you're settling and to make sure there aren't any more incidents. And of course I have to bring in the high council of magic. Personally,  I'm not sure we'll be letting the world know of your existence  _ just  _ yet, so I'll have to ask that you stay in town.” there was a murmur that went through the crowd of monsters at that.  _ Stay trapped here? Council of Magic?  _ You could practically  feel the apprehension, but Undyne kept that painfully wide smile on her face and nodded along. You could see her eyes darting back to the monster besides you and when Toriel gave a slight nod, Undyne’s shoulders relaxed. 

 

      Getting the large assembly of monsters to Ebbot Hollow was easier than expected. Three buses were gathered and the monsters that could fit inside were loaded up, those that couldn't either walked down with an escort or rode down in larger van's, but sooner or later, the asylum was quiet once more and you found yourself standing on the front steps with the strangest company. It was just Toriel, Frisk, the Mayor, and you. And Sans, who was currently being fussed over by his brother. 

 

      “Pap, it's ok.” Sans grumbled as the much larger skeleton looked him over anxiously. 

 

      “but brother! The amount of magic you used was far too dangerous!” the floor pressing thing? Something told you that was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to Sans and the look on Frisk’s face just further cemented it, but the two of you were more focused on talking with the mayor. 

 

      Mayor Grace had been the mayor for as long as you could remember,  each election she won because no one that ran against her could ever hope to have as much rapport as she did, but she ran the town smoothly and there was hardly a complaint. Well, of course you thought more money could be allotted to the orphanage and more could be done to help the homeless community, but now was hardly the time to say so. 

 

      “As for you and Frisk, we shall be checking in biweekly, making sure everything is going ok and that you're integrating into the community, of course Frisk will have to go back to school, you've missed a lot of days, so I expect you to work very hard to catch up.” Frisk nodded violently and Mayor Grace laughed. Though when she turned to you, her expression was far more serious. “You do realize the responsibility you are undertaking here, right.” you assured her you did. “Ok, and as for... your  _ soulmate _ over there...” you blanched at the thought that even the  _ mayor  _ had seen you like  _ that _ , but didn't say anything. “I'm still unsure if  _ that  _ was a spell of some sort, but...” she trailed off, clearly unsure of what to say. 

 

      “I'll be careful.” she looked almost grateful as you cut in before giving a firm nod. 

 

      “Good, now I just have to figure out a way to explain all of this.” she gave a half crazed giggle as she gestured wildly, and you weren't envious of the workload she had before her. 

 

      Toriel just barely fit into the passenger seat of your car, but when the two skeletons tried to climb in the back besides Frisk, you stopped them. Uh,  _ when  _ had it been decided  that they were coming with? Almost as if he sensed the question, Sans gave a snort. 

 

      “Are we unwelcome, little pumpkin?” the taller ones voice was soft as his face practically crumpled and the guilt was back tenfold. 

 

      “No! It's not that! I just, uh, wasn't  sure you would.... fit?” it was a reasonable thing to say, he was much  _ much _ larger than your poor car could handle. 

 

      “NYEH HEH HEH, THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN FIT. IT'LL  JUST BE DREADFULLY UNCOMFORTABLE SO I REALLY HOPE YOUR HOUSE ISN'T  TOO FAR!” His voice was back to it's almost shout and you winced, but smiled anyways. He was almost... no, not almost, he was very  _ cute _ . Which really wasn't a word you thought you'd use for a monster three times your size, but today had been a strange day. As Papyrus busied himself with the delicate art of folding in just enough to fit next to a giggling Frisk, a heavy hand settled on your shoulder and the pleasant tingle that shot through you let you know just who it was. 

 

      “It's no problem for us to stay with you,  _ right _ , Pumpkin?” those sharp phalanges stroked along the length of your neck and he leaned in to press his skull against the back of your head. There was a deep inhale followed by a low growl, was he...  _ sniffing you???  _ Sans’ hand slid down to your waist, followed suit quickly by the other as he held you firmly in place. “Be careful round Tori, she ain't gonna hurt the kid, but she sure as fuck can hurt you.” his voice was a soft murmur, but you were so entranced by the way his bones pressed against your back and the way the rumble of his voice sent shivers down your back that it took a moment for the words to actually be comprehended. You gave a jerky nod of understanding and with great effort, wrenched yourself away to crawl into the front seat. Sans slid into the seat behind you and you could just feel his burning gaze following every movement you made. 

 

_ This is going to be a long drive.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well! I surely wasn't expecting this much reaction from this! But thank you everyone for your nice comments and kudos and yeah!   
> This is gonna be a fun ride and a sorta not really slow burn so I hope you'll stick around with me!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sans has absolutely no impulse control, Pumpkin puts Sans in his place

      The first thing you learned about Sans was that he was lazy. In the days to follow, everyone was hard at work fixing up the old hotel and helping the monsters get acclimated to the new environment. So many monsters still carried wounds from their life underground and there wasn't many monsters with much knowledge of healing magic, so their energy had to be carefully managed. The first day you had spent hours just tending to wounded and learning about monster diseases. Monsters, you learned, were comprised fully of magic, and when they were wounded, they didn't exactly bleed like a human did, but would emit this fine, white powder they called ‘dust’. You were covered in the stuff the first few days and everytime you returned home, you were herded into the bathroom by Sans before Papyrus could see you. 

 

      Beyond this, Sans would up and disappear for hours at a time and every time you asked what he was doing or where he was going, he would throw some half baked flirtatious remark or pun your way until you dropped it. Papyrus, on the other hand was practically  _ always  _ underfoot. When you went to the hotel, he went with to aid in the construction, if you went to the store, he wanted to hold your bags, you had to shoo him out of the kitchen a few times because his attempts at cooking was almost  _ always  _ poisonous. You could never get angry at him, though, he was only trying to help. 

 

      “I'VE NEVER HAD A SISTER BEFORE! HUMAN OR OTHERWISE!” He had told you and well, you had never had a sibling, skeleton or otherwise and if this was what it was like having a younger brother, you had no complaints. 

 

      Additionally, Toriel was one of the monsters with knowledge of how to heal, so she was kept just as busy as you were, but every night she would help you make dinner for the suddenly large family you had - and it took a  _ lot  _ of food to keep everyone satisfied. You would have already found yourself penniless if it hadn't been for the fact that animals would just turn up on your doorstep, skinned and ready for processing. Toriel handled that. You could barely even look at them after literally tripping over the first and landing face to face with butchered bambi. Sans had heard your scream and had appeared out of nowhere, face panicked and body tense, but one look at you had him practically rolling with laughter.  _ Prick.  _ And the appearing out of thin air was something he did  _ constantly.  _ And always, always to fuck  with you. 

 

      The first few times, you had almost punched him, but as slow moving as he looked, Sans moved far quicker than you did, every time you went to hit him he would dodge the hit, grab your hand and boom, you were pinned against a much taller, much heavier, much  _ stronger  _ skeleton who was all too happy to just fall back with you in his arms and nuzzle his face into your neck. These forced cuddle sessions happened only when he was able to get you alone, thankfully, and if someone happened to walk into the room, he'd set you back on your feet and would meander his way out as if nothing had happened - except for the shit eating grin on his face and your quivering legs. 

 

      The worst part was that you had begun to  _ anticipate  _ these weird moments. Sometimes if you were very focused, you could feel the crackle of magic just behind you before he even said a word and when you playfully reacted, he gave a gruff chuckle of his own as he allowed you to pin him down. Of course, you had no clue what to do once you got him there, so, there you had sat, straddling this monster as the two of you just stared at one another. 

 

      “what now?” he asked, his hands settling on your thighs. The more he touched you, the more pleasant the feeling got, but also the more you were able to get used to it. Sure, you would still melt when he embraced you and the first time he had combed his fingers through your hair you had all but moaned, but you were able to force yourself to focus and not slip into that trancelike state. 

 

      “Why don't you react like I do?” you finally asked. In these first few days, you had avoided all talk of this soulmate business, too afraid of what it could all mean. In his defense, Sans never pushed and when you had told him your room was off limits he had scoffed, but had dutifully obeyed. He seemed to be more focused on getting you used to him, which some part of you appreciated. 

 

      “who knows?” that was not the answer you wanted, but Sans grinned at your glare all the same. “there's no record of a monster/human pair like this, so who knows how your soul will react to mine.” there was that word again  _ soul.  _ You had heard it a lot around the monsters, they had tried to explain how the soul was the culmination of their being and how magic originated in the soul, but it was all a lot to wrap your head around. And to think you had one was another thing. You weren't exactly a religious sort, you had grown up knowing the bible and had gone to church a few times in your youth, had even dabbled in other religions as you grew but had come to the conclusion  that you were agnostic - if some God existed, good on them, if they didn't it was no skin off your back. So you didn't really believe in the concept of a soul, but apparently you had been wrong. Every attempt to explain this sort of thinking had resulted in either a scandalized look or, when children were involved, giggling at you expense. 

 

      “.... You said you could prove it before nothing could have prepared you for Sans' reaction to your tentative words, the monster  _ growled _ , a harsh, deep sound and with one fluid motion he had turned your positions over so that he was pinning you to the cold floor. 

 

      Of course you had to have been busy loading the washer when he had swarmed you, so now you were trapped in the small laundry room, the door closed and everyone else outside playing some game. If you screamed, surely someone would hear you, but not before Sans could rip you to shreds with relative ease. Seeing the fear in your eyes, Sans relaxed his hold on you, but kept you immobile so he could rest his hand on your chest. 

 

      “calm down, i ain't gonna hurtcha.” he leaned in to nuzzle against you, the action making you relax against your will. “if i’m gonna do this, yer gonna hafta chill.” his hand was pressing harder against your chest and you could feel a pressure coil around your core, tighter and  _ tighter  _ until you let out a pained whimper. This time Sans’ growl was frustrated, “sweetheart,” the endearment was hissed through his teeth before he rested his head against your shoulder with a long sigh. “you like this, don’tcha?” there was a crackling energy that held your hands bound above your head so that Sans could caress your cheek with his fingertips. “i make you feel good, right?” though he was tense with irritation, his tone was soft like silk and you couldn't deny the reactions it pulled from you. 

 

      “it feels good.” the words escaped despite your best attempt to keep quiet and Sans gave you a relieved smile. 

 

      “that's right, pumpkin, i can make you feel even better, you've just got to let... me... in...” the pressure was back at your chest, even stronger than before and it gave a mighty yank that forced your chest to arch up but whatever he was trying to pull from you just wasn't budging. Red smoke billowed from Sans’ eye socket, so thick that you choked as it fell around you and that crimson eye burned so bright it terrified you, but even as you tried to squirm away you found you couldn't even move an inch. “why are you resisting?” he barked, anger making his voice cold, “yer soul is  _ mine.  _ you are  _ mine _ . you don't  _ get _ to r e j e c t me.” to your horror, you found that  _ yes,  _ Sans could open his mouth and when he did you were faced with deadly sharp teeth. “why even ask if you aren't gonna let me show ya?!” he roared the question, his hand slamming down hard next to your face. 

 

      “I don't know what you're trying to do!” you screamed back, trembling under his rage. A red aura covered Sans hand and once more it was pressed against your chest. The more he pulled, the more it hurt, the more his expression twisted with anger and frustration. 

 

      “ _ stop screaming!”  _ you realized with a start that the ringing in your ears had been your own piercing screams but before you could even try and stop or beg him to let you go, his free hand was pressed against your mouth. When he withdrew, there was a mass of sticky, red magic keeping you gagged and with the silence, Sans sat back with a disgruntled huff. “why isn't this working?” the question seemed to be more for himself then for you. For a moment he looked sad, so sad you almost wished you could console him  - but why did  _ you  _ have to console  _ him _ ? Before you could try and ponder these emotions, Sans was at your side again, his face uncomfortably close to yours. A glow emitted from his open maw before, much to your surprise, a red tongue emerged from the dark depths and ran up your cheek. “alright doll, if yet gonna be  _ difficult _ . i'll play yer game.” he was laughing now, not the warm chuckles he usually gave when he found something amusing nor was it close to the booming guffaws when he heard a particularly good joke, but a soft, humorless sound that grew louder - he sounded...  _ deranged.  _ “i get it! yer just playing hard to get, aren'tcha?” you shook your head violently, once again yanking against the magic binding with all of your strength. Once again, Sans was touching you, his hands stroking your hair, your cheeks, tracing your features before they were dragging down your body, bringing the unwanted pleasure as they went. “heh, you think i don't feel good touching you? that i don't  _ dream  _ of your hands on me?” he tugged your shirt up despite how you shook your head, ignored the fearful tears that gathered in your eyes. 

 

      “ _ SANS! _ ” You don't think you have ever been happier to hear Papyrus’ shrill voice as you were in that moment. Thundering footsteps rushed to you and Sans was shoved from you as Papyrus carefully pulled you up into his arms. He pulled your shirt back down and ripped the magic from your mouth. The sobs that had been silenced poured forth freely as you clung to Papyrus, who immediately stood with you in his arms. “I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU BROTHER!” with those parting words, Papyrus slammed the door shut behind him. 

 

      Papyrus carried you up to your room, his voice soft as he consoled you, when he laid you down on your bed, your trembling hands refused to let go and when he moved to try and free himself you begged him to stay.  _ Sans doesn't come if someone is with me _ . You had told him though he had a sorrowful expression, Papyrus nodded and curled up next to you. His bones were hard and sharp, but his presence was comforting enough that it didn't take long for your trembling to stop and you fell into a fitful sleep. Red eyes and harsh laughter filled your dreams as those sharp skeletal hands reached for a growing heart. Something told you to keep it safe, but even when it was your hands reaching for it, the heart ducked and weaved away from you. Neither of you were able to catch it, no matter how hard you tried. 

 

      When you woke up the next morning, you were alone clutching Papyrus’ red scarf tightly in your hands.  _ How much time passed?  _ It was dark out and the house itself was silent, but that didn't mean everyone else had gone to sleep... it didn't mean that Sans wasn't out there. As silently as you could, you crept to your door and pushed it open just enough that you could peer out down the hall. Listening hard, you could hear the television and the soft murmur of voices but what really caught your attention was a softly glowing flower sitting right next to your door. Hesitantly, you knelt to pick it up and when your fingers brushed across the petals the flower... spoke?

 

      “sorry.” you recognized that voice. Though the soft blue petals had previously entranced you, the sight of the flower filled you with an all consuming rage, enough so that you wrenched the flower up and stormed down the hall to the kitchen and hurled that stupid flower right into the trash. If Sans thought a stupid flower made up for what he did, he had another thing coming. The anger you felt was usually not an emotion you would cling to, usually you tried hard not to hold grudges at all, but the anger kept the fear at bay... and helped you forget how easily Sans had been able to trap you and how even though you yourself hadn't wanted it, his touch still had made the you tingle...

 

      The fact that you were sneaking through your own house wasn't lost on you as you slunk back down the hall to the living room, this was  _ your home _ , the one place you should feel safe but Sans had taken that from you and while the anger kept you standing tall, it didn't make you stupid. Thankfully, when you peeked into the living room, it was only Papyrus and Toriel inside, Papyrus’ voice uncharacteristically quiet as they whispered to one another. The reason for their whispering was obviously a sleeping Frisk sprawled across the floor before the TV, but every so often Papyrus would glance to the front door, his expression strained with worry. 

 

      “He hasn't come home all day!” Papyrus’ voice rose with worry. 

 

      “A rejection that strong, of course he would want to get away for awhile. He’ll come back. He has to, now that they found one another, they can't be separated for long.” Toriel soothed, reaching out a paw to pat his hand. “Her very  _ soul _ rejected him, that would hurt  _ any  _ monster. And your brother...” Papyrus whined and muttered something under his breath that you couldn't catch. “no, you did good, a forced bond would hurt more in the long run. They're just going to have to work this out between the two of them. Isn't that right, dear?” Toriel turned in her seat to face you, her yellow eyes glowing in the darkness.  

 

      “What do you mean we can't be separated?” you asked. Toriel giggled, shaking her head at you. 

      “Gets caught eavesdropping and still shows no shame. Humans are a rare breed.” for a moment you considered apologizing, but that was easily squashed under your anger. 

 

      “What do you mean we can't be separated?” you repeated the question harshly. This time Toriel sighed and looked to the sleeping Frisk before she rose to her feet. 

 

      “Come along, we’ll talk in the kitchen. Papyrus, can you put Frisk to bed?” she herded you down the hall quickly. When the two of you reached the kitchen, she gestured for you to sit, only to be met with a cold look. “dear, there's no reason to be angry with  _ me.” _ she sat at the table, her expression wounded, or at least would be if not for the amused smile at her lips. “You remind me of one of my other children, you know. You both are very stubborn.” she was fairly relaxed, the opposite to your own tense form pressed back against the counter. At your silence, Toriel sighed once more. “Sans was attempting to pull your soul out, probably to let you see firsthand how your soul has been reacting to his. Usually a monster's soul reacts positively to their mate, but yours refused him completely and well, that kind of refusal from your soulmate could drive anyone mad.” that didn't excuse anything. But before you could tell her that, Toriel continued to speak, “Of course usually a monster wouldn't try and  _ force  _ themselves on their mate, so of course Sans was more in the wrong here, you are justified in your anger, but unfortunately, it will only hurt you both in the long run. See after soulmates find one another, they are  _ bound  _ to one another. It's not a very strong one at first, usually the pair will perform a meld and will match their soul's wavelengths, but obviously you haven't done so yet. As you are, the binding is very... well... I suppose you'd say that its temperamental.” 

 

      “What does that mean?” once again Toriel gestured to the seat. Obviously if you wanted more, you would have to play along, so you sat down. The look Toriel gave you was something akin to what a indulgent mother would give a rowdy child. 

 

      “What that means is your souls  _ want  _ to be together, but you are at odds. So far, it's been alright because the contact between you and Sans has been enough to settle your souls, but now that you've rejected him, your souls might start punishing you. And Sans is a special breed of monster, I'm sure you've seen how strong he is, though I don't doubt he hasn't thought to explain it. Do you know what a boss monster is?” you didn't. “he has a large amount of power but a small amount of hp, the imbalance makes it hard for him to control himself, so his lazy persona was born to keep him and his brother safe. And I'm sure it would work if it hadn't been for the attack. I'm sure you've noticed his... scars.” the gaping holes in his skull? Duh. “well, he got them from - “ 

 

      “airing out all my dirty laundry, Tori?” you lurched out of your seat, whirling around to face Sans even as you backed away. For a moment, his eye light flickered to you, his face pained, but he shook himself and refocused on the still smiling monster at your table. 

 

      “I'm just trying to answer her questions since obviously you won't.” Toriel rose up to her feet, looking dignified as could be as she breezed past him and out of the kitchen. You almost wanted to ask her to come back. But she didn't even look back as she left you alone with Sans. For a moment, neither of you spoke or moved until Sans cleared his... throat? A few weeks into knowing him and his biology still made no sense to you. 

 

      “did you get my flower?” he noticed the trash can where the twisted and beaten flower lay slumped. “... guess ya did.” he tapped his fingers against the table anxiously, looking everywhere but you. “ah... pumpkin, - “ 

 

      “ _ Don't call me that. _ ” You hissed, the sound making Sans flinch. 

 

      “i didn't mean to hurtcha. i just...” he trailed off. 

 

      “you just what? Thought that trying to force yourself on me was  _ foreplay? _ ” Sans was curling in on himself now. As you stepped forwards, he stepped back. Again and again until he was pressed back against against the wall with a grimace. “nothing to say? You can't even meet my eyes.” though Sans was close to twice your size, he looked small. 

 

      “i didn't mean to hurt you, you're the  _ last person _ i would  _ ever  _ want to hurt.” you scoffed. 

 

      “Hell of a way of showing it.” you walked past him and down the hall, your heart pounding in your chest. Every step, you wanted to look back, but you forced yourself forwards until your door finally closed behind you. 

 

      The second thing you learned about Sans was that he had no control. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a few heart to hearts

      It was a full week before Sans could work up the courage to try and talk to you again. It was a strange thing for him, being so scared of some human, but that's the thing. You weren't  _ some human _ . You were his soulmate, his other half, hell you could dust him with a single word if you so pleased and he would die with a smile if that would make you happy. And therein lies the rub: all he wanted was to make you happy, but all he had managed to do was make you fear and hate him. 

 

      He wanted to just seal himself back up underground and never come out, but he knew he couldn't. Papyrus needed him, Frisk needed him, and if he tried to leave, his and your soul would punish the both of you. Hell, it only took a day for the pain to start for him, and judging from what Papyrus would tell him when his brother gave him daily updates, you were growing sicker and sicker. Obviously he had to do something here, but he didn't know what. In the underground, monsters mated the second they found their partner, even if it wasn't their soulmate. After all, finding such a thing was so rare in their barren wasteland of a prison that some would just give up hope and look for the next best thing. And not only had Sans found his, but he had found his second after reaching the surface. Lucky him. 

 

      This all left him at a bit of an impasse. Instinct demanded he claim his mate, make sure anyone in your general vicinity knew you were  _ his _ and  _ his alone.  _ But his soul nearly cracked at the thought of how panicked and scared you had looked, at how furious you had been afterwards. He was surprised he wasn't immediately kicked out of the house, honestly,  but he guessed you couldn't exactly kick him out while he was avoiding you like this. A small mercy, but not one that was going to last. He  _ had  _ to find a way to not only apologize but get back into your good graces and he had absolutely no clue how to do either. An echo flower used to do it for Papyrus, hell, usually his younger brother would put his own message on the flower and they would pass it back and forwards until they were willing to talk to one another face to face again. It didn't happen very often, Papyrus wasn't someone who really had it in him to hold a grudge. Not like his sweet Pumpkin. 

 

      If he closed his eyes and focused, he could still taste the salt of your skin, could still see you perched on his lap with that sweet expression. He could imagine things had gone  _ very  _ differently and instead of him sulking around the house, he could still be at your side. You obviously felt the same attraction he did, you just needed to accept it, accept  _ him.  _ After all, he had been playing the part of a good mate so far, right? He'd been bringing home food, taking care of everyone, making sure the humans that came around to cause trouble were swiftly booted from the property and until his...  _ mistake,  _ he had been nothing if not courteous to you. If you would just  _ try  _ and  _ understand.  _ But he knew you had. As much as he would like to just blame you, he knew, deep down that it wasn't your fault. You just couldn't see how your souls reacted to one another and as long as your soul rejected his, you never would. 

 

Unless...

 

\--------------------------------------

 

      You hated Sans. Truly, deeply, utterly, missed _hated_ Sans. Every single time you closed your eyes, you saw the way his face had crumpled as you had walked away, and no matter how truly justified you were, your heart ached. Why couldn't things just have continued to work as they were? What exactly _had_ gone wrong and why had your soul apparently refused his call? Talking with other monsters gave little answer, most were scandalized by soul talk and the mention of a soul rejecting its mate was so unheard of monsters would barely even listen to it. 

 

      Toriel was less help, every time you came to try and weasel more information from her, she would suggest you spoke to Sans about it and Papyrus shut you down right out of the gate the very first time you mentioned his older brother. Not that you expected he could help you all that much, Papyrus just seemed too  _ innocent  _ honestly. The only thing he was willing to say on the whole situation just amplified that thought. 

 

     “HUMAN SISTER! I KNOW SANS SCARED YOU IN YOUR SPARRING MATCH, BUT I HOPE YOU WON'T HATE HIM. HE IS A LITTLE... ROUGH, BUT HE ISN'T A BAD MONSTER.” did he honestly think it was a sparring match? Suspicion gnawed at you, but the way Papyrus was fidgeting nervously and the slight orange tears - apparently skeletons could cry?? - well, you had automatically leaned in and patted his arm comfortingly. 

 

      “hey, its alright, Pap. I mean, I'm not exactly happy with him and we're gonna have to have a stern talk but I don't... completely hate him.” it wasn't a total lie, after all the stupid soulmate bond apparently made it so you couldn't entirely hate Sans even when you wanted to so there was that. 

      “SO YOU'RE STILL GOING TO BE MY SISTER?” Papyrus was trembling, the orange tears starting to fall down his face. It was only natural that your next move was to reach your arms out and coax him into a hug, which Papyrus promptly threw himself into. The weight of the skeleton monster made you stagger, but his long, gangly body curled around yours, his skull pressed into your shoulder as he heaved great sobs. Even as he cried, he spoke, but you could only catch a word here and there, things like ‘ _ sorry’,’I'm scared of being alone’,’My brother’, ‘so dark down there’.  _ You stroked his skull, murmuring soft words of encouragement. It took a good minute, but Papyrus cried himself out and fell asleep on your lap right there - which was both adorable and incredibly inconvenient because, well, now you were stuck there. And this was all at the hotel, where you were  _ supposed  _ to be working. But monsters still came to you and hardly even batted an eye at the monster currently nuzzling into your stomach. Papyrus was a cuddler. Not too surprising.  

 

      A whimsum had twisted their wing, so you rotated it back into place and combed the matted fur that covered their body. A froggit had a sore throat and had been coughing up dust, a piping hot cup of sea tea and strict instruction to take a day of rest - and to stop eating the drywall for goodness sake! In and out you went through monster after monster, keeping the conversation low so as to not wake up your boney companion. Well, that went down the drain fairly quickly as a webbed foot kicked down your door. 

 

      “NGAAAAAAHHH!  _ PAPYRUS!” _ Undyne didn't come to you often. At all really. Sometimes the small lizard monster Alphys would stop in to help and teach you about monster illnesses and Undyne would stop in to  _ ‘check in’  _ which was code for glare suspiciously at you and send lovestruck eyes Alphys’ way whenever the lizard wasn't looking. You thought she was rather cute, honestly. And what made the situation all the more adorable was the way Alphys would look at Undyne when  _ she  _ wasn't looking and when the queen would leave, she would blush darkly and squeal into her hands. These useless lesbians. You guessed? Monster genders didn't work like human genders and if love for them was bound by the soul obviously they wouldn't have the same sexual hangups humans did. But useless gays were useless gays no matter what size they came in and you could remember acting very similar with your first crushes. Nevertheless, Papyrus awoke with a startle, his long limbs flailing as he toppled to the floor. 

 

      “A-AH! QUEEN UNDYNE!” he scrambled up to his feet to give her a salute, one that only made the female monster grimace in response. 

 

     “Pap, I've told ya to stop callin' me that already. I ain't the queen no more, remember?” that was the first time you had heard her say as such, but the rumor mill told you that Undyne had stepped down as queen for the monsters, but was still acting queen when around humans - according to what you heard it was to keep the real queen safe. But then again from what little everyone would speak of about life underground, Undyne had been a cruel ruler, even if she was trying to turn over a new leaf now it would be hard to erase the damage she had done. Well, at least she was  _ trying _ . Unlike a certain  _ someone  _ who just  _ ghosted  _ you. Not that you cared. Right. Yep. “anyways... I uh... I need your help. With the roof. It's still leaking and we were thinking your bones and my spears would work better than the human’s weak ass nails.” she looked nervous, obviously not used to asking for help but Papyrus grinned at her all the same. 

 

      “MY BONE ATTACKS ARE VERY STURDY! IT'LL BE JUST LIKE OLD TIMES!” he stepped forwards as if to wrap Undyne in a hug but froze before he could touch her. For a moment, the two stood there awkwardly before Undyne tapped her fist against Papyrus’. 

 

      “Yeah, buddy, just like old times.” she grinned her usual toothy grin, but it was far warmer than it usually would be. “go on ahead, I wanna talk to the human real quick.” Papyrus didn't hesitate to yank you into a bone crushing hug and tap his skull to the side of your head. 

 

      “Thanks For.... Well... Everything.” that was probably the closest Papyrus could get to a whisper. His bones were twinged with orange and he was looking everywhere but towards you so you just laughed and reciprocated the kiss to his cheekbone. 

 

     “Anytime, Pap. You're my brother after all.” Papyrus was almost glowing, no... you were pretty sure he  _ was  _ glowing a subtle orange, but before you could ponder that, the skeleton was racing out of the room with an embarrassed laugh. Leaving you and Undyne alone. 

 

      “..... You're pretty good with him.” it was Undyne who broke the silence. “From what I hear, you're pretty nice to  _ everyone _ .” well, of course. What did she expect? For you to be dusting monsters in the back room? Didn't you prove yourself from day one? “here's the thing,” Undyne cleared her throat, looking anxious, “I haven't been real... fair with you. It's still pretty hard for me to trust humans. Frisk is a special case, I mean, who could meet the little shit and not immediately fall in love with em? But others... well...” she trailed off, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. 

 

      “Hey, it's ok, I get it. It's understandable you would have a hard time putting faith in us. It’s because of humans that you even got trapped down there.” you intervened, seeing how hard it was for her to get any of this out. What prompted the change of heart anyways? 

 

      “heh... guess I shouldn't be surprised, kindest radiates out of your soul.” Undyne offered you an awkwardly soft smile that you were more than happy to return. “I should uh, go and fix the roof before Pap tries to do it all on his own. We'll... uh... talk later?” 

 

      “Come see me anytime, Undyne.” you waved to her as she closed the door, unable to keep the smile from your face. The past week had been hard. Unbearably so. You ached, your chest literally throbbing with loneliness that just wouldn't go away and the longing to find Sans had kept you up some nights. It wouldn't be surprising if you had bags upon bags under your eyes. But today hadn't been so bad, and you were making better friends with the monsters around you! Things were looking up!

 

      “knock knock. mind if i come in?” the world itself seemed to freeze as that deep voice came from the other side of the door. 

 

      “ _ Sans _ ?” you choked out his name, finding yourself automatically approaching the door before you forced yourself to stop. 

 

      “heh. uh the one and only. least i think so, can't imagine that many bone heads out there with the same name.” he was still on the other side, making no attempt to open it. Why? You knew he could easily warp in and trap you inside, what was he pulling here? “listen pumpkin, i just wanna talk. i won't do nothing bad, i'll even give you some insurance.” insurance? The hell he meant by that? You'd like to say it was curiosity that made you crack open the door and peer out, but deep down you knew it was inevitable. Sans was sweating profusely, his hands in his jacket pockets and his shoulders hunched. 

 

      “What do you want?” despite your harsh tone, that red light in Sans’ eye glowed bright at the mere sight of you and... did his pupil seriously form in the shape of a heart?  

 

      “hey pumpkin.” he breathed, the tension seeming to drain out of his body. He stepped forwards, his hand reaching out to push the door open wider. “can i?” still asking for permission? Despite how much your brain screamed at you to say no, you found yourself nodding. Your tiny room seemed smaller as Sans stepped inside and kicked the door shut behind him. The air was stagnant for a few tense heartbeats as Sans seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say. He gave your room a quick glance around, his eye light settling on the couch. Your room was rather small, there was an observation table on the far wall, a cabinet filled with various medicines and bandages you were able to get from both work and other monsters, but there was a soft couch for those to lie on either while they waited or while with family. You didn't know where it came from, one day it was just there, but it was useful so you weren't complaining. Taking a seat, Sans patted the spot next to him, only to receive a cold look in return. The look he gave was noncommittal,  his shrug said ‘ _ fair enough’  _ but the damned heart in his eyesocket didn't dim in the slightest. “so uh... things went a bit... outta control last time,” you snorted at that, taking a seat at the table. “well i was thinkin’ ‘bout how i could not only apologize but answer yer question from before.” he unzipped his jacket as he spoke, one hand pulling up the white t-shirt he wore to reveal cracked and broken ribs. The sight was enough to force you to your feet, worry about his wellbeing too strong to ignore. 

 

      “What happened?” you stood before him and pulled his shirt even higher up, not even noticing the red blush staining his cheeks or the way his eyesockets widened in shock. “is this why you stay bundled up all the time?” gingerly, you reached down to feel just how deep some of the cracks were, however the second your fingers touched his bones, a shiver went through the both of you. 

 

      “pumpkin,” his voice was deeper than before, a gruffness to his tone that sent a tingle down your spine. “i'mma ‘bout ta lose my cool as it is. i’m trying real hard not to let things get outta hand again.” he took both of your wrists in one hand and easily pulled you onto his lap. “this is difficult as it is.” he muttered, his skull already pressing into your hair so he could take a deep whiff. 

 

      “S-Sans!” you spoke up suddenly, jerking him out of whatever trance he had fallen into to direct his attention to a red glow emanating from his ribs. 

 

      “right, right.” he at least had the decency to look abashed as he reached into his ribs and pulled out a upside down, white heart. The heart had a reddish glow surrounding it and was covered with cracks and was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen. “this, well, it's my soul.” Sans offered it to you as if it were the most natural thing to do. “you could kill me right now if you wanted.” he spoke so casually, as if talking about the weather. just press down with your thumbs and squeeze until all i am is dust. To be told this while the heart floated just above your palm was terrifying and immediately you offered it back to him, only to have him push the soul closer to you. “it's yours.  _ i’m yours _ .” he stroked your cheek with sharp fingertips. “i want you to know how i feel. touch it.” you found yourself staring at the soul, spellbound by its beauty and with shaking fingers, you touched its glossy surface. 

 

_ Warmth.  _

_ Hunger _

_ Lovelovelovelove _

_ Soulmate _

**_M U S T  P R O T E C T_ **

_ minemineminemine  _

_ Pain  _

**_L O N G I N G_ **

_ MATEMATEMATEMATE _

_ don't want to hurt  _

_ Can't help it  _

_ Darkness  _

_ HelpHelpHelp  _

 

__ With a gasp, you jerked back, the rush of emotions and pain too strong to bear. What would you say? What  _ could  _ you say? 

 

      “ _ Sans _ .” you whispered his name like a fervent prayer and pressed your lips to his teeth. For a moment,  he was too stunned to move but then his hand combed through your hair to pull you closer as his mouth opened just enough for his tongue to slip out. Before, you hadn't been able to really focus on the texture of his tongue, but as it breached your lips and surged towards your own, you found yourself amazed at the smooth feeling of it. Sort of like jello, but much firmer. The taste was vaguely smokey but left a tingling sensation like pop rocks or soda and there was a sweetness to him that sparked a hunger for more. You weren't sure when you had pulled his soul to your chest, nor when your fingers had begun caressing the surface, just barely gliding across it. Sans' reaction was explosive, with loud groan he broke away from your lips to nuzzle his skull into your neck as his hands grabbed at you desperately to pull you in closer. His sharp teeth were gentle as they brushed across your skin, his tongue ravenous in its trek. His soul was dripping a viscous liquid, it seemed to blue from one angle and red from the other, nevertheless, the memory of how his tongue tasted had you bring your fingers to your mouth to see if this strange liquid tasted the same. The sweetness was there, but so much stronger and the pop rocks feeling all the more powerful. Whatever possessed you to bring his soul to your mouth, you couldn't exactly explain, but it wasn't like you were thinking as you littered the soul with sloppy kisses, dragging your tongue across the surface to collect the magic dripping from it. 

 

      “p-pumpkin!” Sans was whimpering now, clinging onto you as if you were the only thing keeping him grounded. How cute. The heart was in his socket again, brighter than ever and his bones were trembling so hard the sound of them rattling filled the room. His soul trembled too, the vibrations growing stronger with each lick as his whines grew in intensity. Higher, and high he cried, harder and harder he shook until his entire body went still and his soul gushed with magic. He fell back onto the the couch like a marionette with cut strings, dazed and twitching as you licked up the remains of magic. “please, please, stop.” he cried out from the overstimulation, but made no move to actually pull his soul from you, but with one last gentle kiss, you yourself brought the soul back to his ribs. 

 

      “You ok?” the feeling of his magic still tingled on your tongue, the echoes of his pleasure a fresh memory. You didn't press as hard into his soul as the first time, so you didn't feel it as strongly, but what you  _ could  _ feel told you that he would be out of commission for a while. 

 

      “never better.” he croaked, a snicker bubbling forth. “i didn't mean for that to happen. thought i would just give ya my soul and answer questions so you could stop me if i went crazy again.” neither of you thought the feeling would be this intense, nor could you fully explain what exactly had happened. But you could feel your own soul thrumming happily in your chest and as Sans nuzzled against you, you didn't have complaints. 

 

      “we still need to talk about this.” you told him, carefully pulling his shirt back down and zipping up his jacket. 

 

      “zzzzz.” and there was another skeleton sleeping on top of you. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, this chapter was just so hard to get out. Hopefully I'll be able to get chapters out at a more steady pace but this one just kicked my ass


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things go well for once.

_ Dark. Cold.  _ **_H u n g r y._ ** _ Your little brother was crying in the other room, he’s been crying for days, but you don't have anything to give to him. Useless. He's going to die because you're  _ **_w e a k._ ** _ Do something! What can I do? Hunt! Nothing to hunt. No food. No help. Alone. Alonealonealonealone.  _ **_S c a r e d._ ** _ Help me. Help him. Don't let him die. Pick up your axe.  _ **_D o   s o m e t h i n g._ ** _ Worthless. Hopeless. Smell something? Blood? Meat? There's a scream, did something fall into one of the traps? You pray for something good, maybe a deer fell or a fat rabbit, anything would work now! But a feeling of dread settles in your bones as you approach the elaborate trap. The screams... that's not how a deer sounds. The struggles, a rabbit would have died immediately. You walk slowly to the trap and come face to face with a crying human. The immediate feeling is sorrow, guilt. They didn't deserve this, not really. They were just a child. But you could hear your baby brother still crying in the distance, could feel your own hunger gnawing at your bones. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'll take your pain away. Forgive me. You raised the axe high above your head, ignoring how the child begged for your help. Seconds before they died, the child looked you deep in the eyes, their expression like a curse. Taking apart the body was easy and soon the limbs were thrown onto the kitchen table. You didn't need to cook the meat, but you did anyways, hoping that would take away the horror of the situation. It didn't. The clothes were burned, the bones buried. And your brother was fed first. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. This isn't how things are supposed to be.  _ **_But isn't this how it’s always been?_ **

 

      You woke up with a gasp, only to find yourself pinned against a firm, warm body. The dream was already escaping you, but the horror you felt remained. Something.... something wasn't right, but even as you tried to cling to what you could remember, the dream faded away before you could piece it together. Against you, Sans purred, his skull nuzzling against you in his sleep and a warm, wet tongue dipped out to glide a soothing path across your shoulder. Even in his sleep he was trying to console you. Where even where you? The hotel still? Memories of what had happened before made your cheeks burn and the thought that you two had been cuddling on this couch for who knows how long made you groan aloud. Sans gave a sleepy trill in response and shifted you even closer to him, his arms caging you against his body rather effectively. Part of you wanted to just close your eyes again and go back to sleep, it was so nice being held like this... but then Sans' hand drifted further down to cant up your thigh against his hip bone and something hot, firm, and definitely  _ not welcome _ was grinding against you as his hips rolled against yours. 

 

      “ _ Sans!”  _ you yelped, pushing against his chest with all your strength. 

 

      “hrmm?” came the sleepy reply. “pumpkin?” he pressed a kiss to your neck. “another dream?” he nibbled little marks onto your skin, soothing the slight pain with passes of his tongue as he shifted you underneath him. 

 

      “SANS!” it was your panicked shout that made his eyes fully open, though it took another second for that hazy light in his eye to focus on you. 

 

      “huh?” scarlet blossomed across his cheekbones and suddenly Sans was on the other half of the room. “fuck! i uh.... i didn't think...” he was stuttering one hand yanking his shirt down to cover his erection and the other covering his face in embarrassment.  _ Cute.  _ No! No, no, no! This was  _ not  _ the time for that! 

 

      “I... it's ok! I mean, I'm not saying to pounce on me while sleeping or that I was...” oh if there was any sort of deity out there, may they smite you now so you stopped fucking talking. “ _ anyways!  _ You wanted to uh... talk before before you had practically thrown yourself at him and molested his soul? Yeah, that. 

 

      “yes! i was... uh gonna show you my souls reaction to you, but uh.... guess you already saw that. heh.” if there was a hole to swallow you up, it could just hurry up and come now. 

 

      “... so those feelings I got from that?”

 

      “only soulmates can do that. anyone else wouldn't have gotten anything or woulda just absorbed it.” he was fidgeting, which was understandable, but the glow was... dimmer now. 

 

      “how do skeletons have erections?”  _ kill me. Just end my suffering.  _

 

      “magic.” he wiggled a hand in front of him, but his smile was strained and his blush harder. Silence fell over you both. Awkward. Tense. Long. Fucking. Silence. And then both of you leapt into action. 

 

      “I better go check the time!”

 

      “i’m sure my bro is looking for me!” you were practically running from one another, but there was only one door, so all that did was have you both pressed against it as you scrambled for the doorknob and as Sans’ Body pressed against yours from behind, you could still feel that which must not ever be named or spoken about or  _ holy fuck, he's thick. How would I?  _ Nope! Nopenopenopenope! You shoved him back hard and Sans toppled to the floor behind you with a loud ‘ooph!’  

 

      “fuck, sorry! I didn't - “ Sans looked up at you, his expression unreadable  except for a determined clench of his jaw. 

 

      “wait. don't go yet.” you could leave, run down the hallway, back to your car and avoid him like the plague, but you couldn't move your feet. “i wanna start over. put aside the whole soulmate thing and forget that  _ this  _ happened.” he gestured down.  _ Don't look at his dick. Don't look at his dick.  _ **_Why are you looking at his dick?!_ **

 

      “I.... I don't think we can.” he looked pained, do you hurriedly finished that thought. “I mean, you can't forget we’re soulmates and what happened before... I don't want to sweep it under the rug. And the whole... that...” if your face could get any redder you would spontaneously combust. “it's just a natural reaction. Nothing to be ashamed of. Morning wood just happens and” you were going on some medical tirade, wishing you would shut up the whole time, but for his benefit, Sans didn't interrupt nor did he look off put. He just sat there and listened. “ _ anyways! _ What's done is done and we have to keep going on. Healthily. I'm willing to forgive what happened before as long as you don't attack me, or  _ anyone _ again, ok? I kinda... well, I don't think it's an excuse, but I got some of what you were feeling before and well, I get that it's mostly an instinct thing, right?” he nodded. “and my soul is acting weird, and that scared you, right?” another nod. “well, my soul might've rejected you because we hardly know one another. Humans don't just latch onto the first person they see for life, we have to get to know one another before we take any big steps!” 

 

      “like.... dating?” now it was your time to nod. “you want us... to date?” floor swallow you up,  _ now.  _ “ok.” despite how blaise he sounded, the light in his eye was a heart again and he had a soft smile on his face. 

 

      “ok.” you scrambled for the the doorknob again and it fell open with a gentle squeak, letting you make your hasty retreat. As you sped down the halls, you could see knowing looks in the monsters eyes as you passed them and one even muttered a “yeah, get it gurl!” as you passed, which made you blush all the harder. What, could they sense the magic on you? 

 

When you got back to your car you got your answer. Maybe they could see the magic, maybe not, but they could definitely see the hickies you certainly didn't remember getting. Ugh. And you had  _ work _ to go to. At least you had some time to make it, but you didn't have time to make it home, get changed, look halfway  _ decent.  _ Once upon a time, you had kept some clothing in your car in case of emergencies, but before all this monster business, all you had was work and home. You could at least find a jacket in the backseat and when you zipped it up all the way, you could cover some of the marks but anyone who got to close would be able to see - and it was obvious who could have given them. It wasn't that you were ashamed of being with a monster, honestly you had always been sort of a private person when it came to your relationships as a whole, but there was only so much you could do to keep a secret in such a small town. Gossip was what kept everything running. 

 

      Tonight was your night at the clinic, which meant avoiding other people was impossible,  but for the most part it had been quiet. In the first days, the whispers had been a dull roar, everyone had a story to tell or a rumor to spread about the strange beings in the forest. You had never thought that the mayor's decision to keep the monsters a secret would ever work, but for the most part it seemed to be working. People would latch onto the next story, the next juicy rumor, and the thought of  _ scary monsters  _ would be pushed under the rug. No one really wanted to believe monsters existed if they didn't have to, but you would run into someone from that very first night every so often and they would shoot you that knowing, almost  _ accusatory  _ stare. Some of the people you had considered to be dear friends had started to avoid you, from coworkers at the asylum to drinking buddies from the force. You would've felt sadder about it if you weren't too preoccupied with everything else you had to do - no one had time to worry about a racist when they had four other mouths to feed, a race of people to help and a hotel to rebuild, afterall. 

 

      The hours dragged on so slowly, the idle gossip tepid and dry, but you still chatted as cheerily as you could manage and deflected any questions you could about the dark markings on your neck. You received a few knowing looks and a few even asked if you were back with your fiance... you laughed at that and told them no. What would Sans even do if your ex came calling? Would he simply attack? Or would he get that wounded look again as he tried to run away? Sans was constantly on your mind, the glow of his soul, how he sounded as you handled it, the way he had looked when he had you pinned beneath him.... You jerked out of that thought process before it could go any further. Dating. Dating a skeleton. How the hell was that supposed to work? You couldn't exactly take him out to dinner or bring him sightseeing. And there was the matter of what would happen when the Magic Council arrived,  what if they decided the monsters had to return underground? What if another war broke out? What side would you really choose when push came to shove? Could you live underground? 

 

**_Cold._ ** The flash of a hazy memory came unbidden.  **_Hungry._ ** It didn't feel like your own.... you found yourself staring out the window, your attention brought to the frost covered ground. It had been getting colder and colder as of late. The first snowfall shouldn't be too far away now.  **_Coldcoldcoldcold._ ** You pressed at the odd feeling, wanting to know what it was. 

      “are you alright, dear?” your head snapped up at the voice and you automatically forced a smile. 

      “yes! Sorry, just a little tired.” you told the nurse, who gave your shoulder a soft pat. 

 

      “you should head on home, you don't look so well, dear.” even if you wanted to argue, a quick glance at your pale face in the window made you nod instead. The memory was gone, but the feeling of dread remained. A dense, claustrophobic miasma that chilled you to your very bones. Your soul pounded in your chest, along with your heart, both telling you that there was no way you could go underground... to do so was to die. 

 

      Back home, Toriel was already in the kitchen, the smell of a pot roast hit you before you even walked through the door. She really was an amazing cook, you had to ask her for some of her recipes one of these days. Already seated at the dinner table was the rest of your little family, Papyrus  sat with Frisk in his lap, his smile bright and cheerful as he greeted you and Sans sat next to him looking rather relaxed. A warm feeling blossomed in your chest at the sight of them, a keen desire to protect this peace you had growing stronger by the moment. 

 

      “SANS TOLD ME YOU TWO MADE UP! THATS GREAT!” Papyrus and Frisk clapped happily together. 

 

      “told ‘em we had a real  _ heart to heart. _ ” Sans winked, you blushed and his smile grew. Did he do the heart eyes thing on purpose? 

 

      “You must be exhausted though, come on, sit, take a load off.” Toriel wore a frilly apron, one that had been given to you as a gag gift, but it looked much better on her. Even if she did have to have Papyrus fix the strings so it would fit. She really was a beautiful woman.... if a bit strange. 

 

      “thanks for cooking, Toriel, it smells delicious.” Frisk giggled at your words and signed, 

 

      ‘ _ it sounds like your a husband returning home from work!’  _ you snorted in response. 

 

      “or I'm a woman returning home to my beautiful wife, gay people exist Debra.” you replied, making Frisk laugh all the more. They hadn't laughed much before and each time that you had been able to make them had been a monumental accomplishment. If you had it your way, they would always be smiling. The kid had faced enough hardship as it was. 

 

      “oh, you've  _ goat  _ to be  _ kidding  _ me, a silly old woman like me doesn't deserve such a beautiful wife. “ Toriel tittered but she smiled slightly at the joke. This all felt right. Your small family, together, cracking jokes and teasing one another. Without thinking you pressed your hand into Sans’ and squeezed gently. Though he looked shocked, he laced his fingers with yours and gave you a warm look with the hearts in his eyes flashing brilliantly. 

  
  


Something about this felt vaguely familiar, but you didn't question the feeling. 


End file.
